Spike-holder.



w m H N N m h r H O B To all ooh-m it may concern scription.

JOHN MAURICE POWELL, OF LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA.

SPIKE-HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed April 5, 1911. Serial No. 619,029.

Patented Nov. 21, 1911-.

Be it known that I, JOHN M. POWELL, a citizen ofthe United States, and a resident of Los Gatos, in the county of Santa Clara and State of California, have inventeda new and Improved Spike-Holder, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact de- My invention relates generally to a device used in railroad construction and more particularly it involves an attachment adapted to be brought into engagement with the base plate of a rail and into contact with the head of a spike whereby the spike is held against displacement.

The object of my invention is to provide a spike holder, preferably made of a single piece of material, having parts'thereon for engagement .with. a tie plate or rail chair and another portion for engagement with the web of the rail, the said holder when in normal position being in contact with the head of a spike, whereby the spike is held against loosening and the danger of spreading rails is obviated.

A further object-of my invention. is to provide a simple and effective device of'the type described which may be produced at a low cost of manufacture and by reason of its construction will effectively hold the spikes in engagement with the ties whereby the danger of loose, spikes is prevented.

Reference isto be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this spec-ification' in which like characters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the views, and in which Figure 1 is a plan View of a rail, together -with the tie plate and spike, the spike holderbeing in normal position; Fig. 2 1s a sectional view on the'line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a similar sectional view but showing a form of holder especially adapted to engage the-base of the rail, the tie plate being'omitted; Fig. 4 is a perspective of a form of holder shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective 'view of the form shown in Fig. 3. v

My holder is made preferably of integral construction, as shown inFigs. 4 and 5,

- wherein the-piece of metal 1 has its end portion 2 of channeled formation whereby the side portions 3 result which tend to stiffen the said portion, the opposite end of the said material 4 being extended at an angle to the portion 2. whereby a bearing surface is provided, the ends of the bearing surface being downwardly bent as at 5 and provided with lugs 6. The bearing surface 4, preferably at the base of theportion 2, is swaged as at 7 in order to provide a pocket into which the head of the spike 8 may be securely engaged when the holder is in normal position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4, it will be noted that the bearing surface 4 is extended for a sufficient-distance beyond the swaged portion 7 in order to permit the lugs 6 thereon to engage under the tie plate and against the tie '9, this tie plate being of greater width than the base of the rail 10. In the form shown in Fig. 4 the bearing surface need not be extended beyond the, swaged portion 7 any greater distance than enough to merely allow the head of the .spike 8 to be seated in the pocket 7.

In order to avoid excessive use of material as well as to make the lugs 6 independently resilient, the bent portion '5 is provided with a central recess 11, the depth of'the recess in each of the forms shown permitting the .lugs 6 to engage irregularities in the surface I of the tie 9, thereby making it unnecessary to have a plane surface on the said tie.

The normal position of my holder is shown in Fig. 1 wherein the head of the spike 8 is securely positioned in the pocket formed by the swaged portion 7 The upper end of the portion 2 is securely engaged against the upper flange of the rail and the lugs 6 are in engagement with the under side of the base of the rail or with the tie plate under the rail, this position being obtained by taking one of the holders and bringing the upper end portion thereof into engagement with the railand driving the lugs 6 beneath the base thereof until the head of the spike'8 is securely seated in the swaged portion 7 It is apparent that my spike holder will effectively hold the spike in position in the tie and that removal of the holder is difiicult by reason of the .fact that it is engaged at its endportions and being made preferably of steel it possesses strength and rigidity. By securely holding the spike in position in the tie, the danger of spreading rails is avoidedand the possibility of train wrecking minimized. The holder has a further rails in line should they become broken, whereby an added element of safety is obtained.-

While I have shown my spike holder of a preferred form, together with a slight modification thereof, it is obvoius that changes in the form, shape, and size of the holder may be varied at will to meet difierent condit-ions without departing from the spirit and'scope of the invention as set forth in the following claim.

Having thus described my invention, I

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent A spike holder made up of a single piece of metal having one end portion thereof of channeled formation, the outer end of which is in engagement with the flange of a rail,

the said channeled portion extending angu? larly therefrom, a plane bearing surface adjacent the said channeled end portion, the

other end of the said holder being provided with overturned lugs integral therewith, the said plane bearing portion being provided with a pocket on'the under side thereof and closely adjacent the said lugs, whereby when the outer end of the said channeled end portion is placed against the web of a rail, the said lugs'may be driven under the flange of the said rail with the head of the spike in engagement with the said flange positioned within the pocket in the said plane bearing surface whereby the said spike will be heldagainst removal.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing wltnesses.

JOHN MAURICE POWELL.

Witnesses:

M. FEDER, G. R. LEWIS. 

